Two senior Iranian security officials have stated that since last week, there has been no sign of Esmail Qaani, the commander of the Quds Force, a special forces unit under the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Qaani had reportedly traveled to the Lebanese capital of Beirut, which has recently been under continuous Israeli attacks.
According to reports from Reuters, these two Iranian officials informed the media that Qaani had gone to Lebanon after the Israeli airstrikes killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last month. However, since Israel bombed Beirut again last week, he has been unreachable.
One of the Iranian officials mentioned that Qaani was targeted in an attack in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh in Beirut, supposedly aimed at senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine. However, during the attack, Qaani was not present for a meeting with Safieddine.
The officials stated that since that attack, Iranian authorities and Hezbollah have been unable to establish contact with Qaani.
Israel has been targeting several objectives in Dahiyeh while combating the Iran-backed extremist organization Hezbollah.
Another official also mentioned that following Nasrallah’s death, Qaani had gone to Lebanon. However, Iranian authorities have been unable to reach him after Israel’s airstrikes targeting Safieddine. It is widely believed that Safieddine will become the next Hezbollah leader.
Hezbollah has not yet commented on the situation regarding Safieddine.
When asked about reports suggesting Qaani may have been killed in the Israeli attack on Beirut, Israeli military spokesperson Colonel Nadav Shoshani stated that the outcome of the attack is still under evaluation.
He mentioned that last week, Israel carried out an attack on Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut.
“After the specific results of that attack are known, we will share them with everyone,” Shoshani said during a press briefing. “There are many questions about who was there and who was not.”
The Quds Force is the overseas branch of the IRGC, responsible for overseeing transactions between Iran and armed groups allied with Iran in the Middle East, such as Hezbollah.
In the September 27 attack on Beirut by Israel, IRGC Deputy Commander Abbas Nilforoushan and Nasrallah were reportedly killed in an underground bunker.